NATCHEZ &8212; She prefers math, but apparently eighth-grader Katie Sanderson can write pretty well too.

The Adams County Christian student is the state winner in the Daughters of the American Revolution&8217;s annual essay contest.

She wrote her essay on Benjamin Franklin last semester, but received her award in February.

&8220;It was on all his adventures and what he&8217;s done in politics,&8221; Sanderson said.

The initial assignment was for class, and her teacher forwarded her essay on to the state contest.

She attended a banquet in Jackson recently and received $25, a certificate and a pin.

Next her essay will face competition in the southwest region and eventually nationals if she makes the cut.

&8220;I was really surprised,&8221; she said.

&8220;If I sit down and have nothing else to do, I&8217;ll write.&8221;

But math is her subject, she said.

&8220;In seventh-grade (math) started getting really easy for me, and I just get everything now,&8221; she said.

Writing isn&8217;t hard, she said, but it&8217;s not something she enjoys that much.

Sanderson, 13, competed against other fifth- through eighth-graders in the state.

She&8217;s also in the ACCS band on the color guard.

She is the daughter of Rick and Roxan Sanderson.